Improvement in wool-washing machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1..

F. G. SARGENT. Wool-Washing Machine.

OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOO G OOOOOO O OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO Invenan' P. G. SARGENT. Wool-Washing Machine.

med oct. 21,1879.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

P. G. SARGENT. Wool- Washing'Maohirnm No. 220,733., Patented Oct. 21,1879.

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llave/afan' f M www 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F. G. SARGENT.

Wool-Washing Machine.

VI-atented Oct. 2i, 1879.

Igan

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IlMPROVEMEN'l' IN WOOrLmWASl-HNG WliCl-HNES.

Speeication forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,733, dated October 2 1, 1829; application 'filed Ang-tt 2e, 1318.

To altwltom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK'G; SAR- GENT, of Graniteville, in the'county of Middle'- sex and v'State of Massachusetts, have in vented certain Im provem en ts in Wool- Wash i n g-Ma chines,'of which the following is-a specification.

. My -invention relates tot-hat class of woolwashing machinesin which wool is deposited in a tub or tanksuppliedwith a cleansing-hquid, and carried vthrough the same by means of vibratin g rakes or' carriers, which pass the -Wool'to an elevator, by which it is delivered to the press-rolls, and by them from the machinepand the improvements consist infiniparting motion to the rakes or carriers through vyieldin g connections, whereby any one or more of the series may yield and exert only a moderate forward pressure without atl'ecting the others; in means for drawing the liquid from ,the tub, purifying, and returning the same to the tub while the machine is in operation; in providing a means whereby the sediment may be removed' from the bottom of the tub when thenmachineis used for rinsing; and in certain details of construction, hereinafter ex# plained. y

Figure 1l represents Ia top-'plan view of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a longitudinal ven tical seclion of the same on the linea'xof Fig.

1; Fig. 3, a section through the apparatus for pari'yingihe liquid, taken on the line y y of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section on the line z z of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, across-section of the belt; and Fig.. 6, a' cross-section, showing the manner iu which the sleeves are sustained. Y

The chief objects 0f this invention are to hold the woollonger under the action of the cleansing liquid, permit the long continued use of the same liquid, and to secure the rcmoval of sediment from the Vtub when in use as a rinser or washer.

-To accomplish the rst of these objects, itis essential that a larger supply of wool beplaced and maintained'iu the tub than has-h,eretotore been customary, and this in turn renders it necessary to 4so connect the rakes or carriers ,by which they are driven that they shallindividually yield when too great a quantity of wool accumulates.

-for them to handle, as otherwisethe rukes or usual, with a perforated carriers would be liable to become twisted or broken.I It is also necessary to provide means for controlling the qi'lantity ot' wool taken from the tub by the elevator, support to the carriers.

A represents the tub or tank, provided, as diaphragm, B, over which .the Wool is carried by vibrating rakes or carriers UC', the dirt or sediment falling through the diaphragm tothe bottom of the tub or tank. The Wool to be cleansed is deposited in the tub or tank by means of a conveyer-aproma, in the usual manner, falling behind a swinging gate, e, which tends to hold it back until taken by the first of the rakes C, by-which it is carried to the next rake of the series, and so on until it is. delivered to the elevator, to be thereby discharged from the machine. Y

As above stated, it is designed to ll the tub 'nearly-full of Wool, in order that it may remain Vfor a considerable' .time in the liquid with which the tub is supplied, the Wool being delivered from the machine no fasterthan it is fed into the same,thus keeping a quant-ity always in4 soakage, perfect loosening oi' the dirt. .In order that the rakes or carriers G C shall not be strained er broken by having to handle too great an accumulation ofthe wool at once, the rakes are connected with the driving-shaft O by means of yielding or spring connections or couplings b b', which may be of any suitable construction which willenable them to dis.- engage themselves from thel Vrakes when the amount offwool is too great for them to handle, but cause them to engage` therewith again as soon as thc quantityis sufficiently lessened.

ln the drawings two forms ot' coupling are shown inFig. l, the first consisting of a springclutch, having its interlocking lugs or teeth made of .V form, so thatthey shall ride back and disengage from cach other when the resistance becomes great, and the second consist-ing of friction plates or disks, held in contact by means of a spring, f. By regulating or adjusting the pressure ot' its spring', either of. these vdevices may be made to yield at any req uireddegree of resistance,

lt will be noted that although the rakedriv ing clutches yield when the lakes are subjected to severe strain, they do not release the rakes,

and to give iirm and thereby causing a more but continue to exert a forward pressure or strain upon them, so that the rakes continueto press forward against the fiber. In this way the mass of fiber, although too large to be carried forward bodily by the rake, is urged constantly forward, so that it isgradually ad- Vanced and taken out of the way by the mechanism beyond. In this way, it will be seen, the rake which yields or stops is caused to answer as a feeder tothe rake or other feed mechanism beyond, and remaining as it does down within the ber, it also preventsadditional fiber from being advanced from the rear within its own grasp, thus preventing any increase of the resisting mass. i

Still another, and perhaps the greatest, advantage ari"ng from the use of the yielding clutches in a machine of this class is the fact that it admitsof the bowlbei-ng completely filled with fiber, and thenthe machine -being operated continuously, whereby the fiber is permitted to soak a much longer time than usual without stopping the machine.

The elevating and delivering devices control the rate of discharge, and as the rakes or carriers can only advance the fiber at the same ratethat it is discharged they remain down and inove gradually forward until relieved of thel wool iu front of them.

v In order that the wool may not be taken too rapidly from the tub by the elevator E, aswinging gate, J, is arranged transversely across the tub, directly below the last rake or carrier C', its lower end resting upon the perforated diaphragm. B, as shown in Fig. 2, and arranged to swing upward toward the -elevator E.

The gate .J is composed of a series of parallel teeth or rods, between which the teeth of the last rake or carrier C pass as the rake descends, wlierebythe rake is enabled to pass behind a portion of the wool.

The gate J holds back Ithe wool away from thev elevatorE, and only permits its being delivered thereto through the action'of the re'ar' carrier, U,.which, falling behind a portion-of the wool, as mentioned, draws it through the teeth of the gate J, and carries it over the ini eline F to the elevator E i In thus-drawing the wool through the gate J the bers are well separated and drawn out.

In theeventof the wool becoming sufficiently matted or tangled to prevent its being drawn between-the teeth of the gate, the latter `will 'swing upward and allow it to. pass oft' -at the ends of the teeth.

The gate J may be weighted or provided 'with spring or other pressure,` to cause it to od'era given amount of resistance before swinging upward;

I am aware that inclined gates or gua-rds have been used `in wool-washing machines for thepurpose of forcing the fiber during its advance through the bowl or tank beneath the surface of the duid; but I believe myself to be the first to provide a gravitatin g gate arranged to operatein conjunction with the last carrier and the elevating mechanism, as shown and described, so as-to-control'and equalize the discharge of the ber, and this it is .that It;

now claim.

The incline F, over which the wool is carried to the apron .G by the elevator E, may be simply a plane surface; but in practice l prefer to provide its upper face with a series of longitudinal ribs, l, upon which the wool is delivered by the carrier O, the ribs serving to hohl the wool up from the face of the incline, permitting the liquid to drain oft" and enabling the elevator to more readily take hold of the wool.

The elevator E consists of a'series of pendy ent teeth, m, mounted in a frame, T, extending transversely across the tub, and having its side bars pivoted at their rear ends to a swinging gallows-frame, U, pivoted at its lower end, and connected at its upper end with a crank,- V, through -a pitman, fw, to which pitman the frame T is also connected by links a'.

' By this arrangement a reciprocating motion is imparted to the elevator E, and the teef-1h m are caused to rise 1n going forward to reeive the wool, but to fall as they commence to move back with the same.

The teeth m may be either pivoted and free to swing back or they may be rigid, ona portion may be pivoted and the remainder left rigid, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the incline F is furnished with the ribs l, the rigid teeth are found to work well, and they are cheaper and stronger in construction.

' The wool `is delivered .to the carrier-apron G over the incline F by the elevator E, and is carried by the apron to or between the presser-- rolls, and by them delivered from the machine. It is proposed to employ in this machine a carrier-apron of theform described ina former application, having one' or more ribs', g, on its inner face, movement and seated in corresponding grooves in the rollers over which it passes, as shown in Fig. 4.

Instead, however, of forming the apron and its ribs ofrubber and in one piece, asin the case mentioned, I prefer to construct it as represented in Fig. 5, in which XV represents a facing of rubber and X 'a backing of heavy cotton-duck, or lilematerial, folded or creased to form ribs g, and having the inner space of these folds or ribs filled in with rubber, strips of duck, or other suitable material, as shown.

For the purpose of sustaining the carrier- .apron G against sagging, and to assist in guiding the same, a groovcd plate, N, is placed directly below itsl upper half, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As above stated, the 'carrierapron 'Gr may be made to carry the wool between the presser-rolls H, in which case the apron will be carried around the lower presser* roll; or it may simply be arranged to deliver the wool to them, the apron in such case being passed around and carried by a small roller arranged directly in advance of the lower pressroll.

When passed around `the lower press-roll,

running in the direction of ,itsl

aaorzea 3 the apron G forms la covering therefor; but when not' so arranged a special covering for the roll may be provided, as usual, the former arrangement being, however, preferred.

With either arrangement of the carrier-apron l 'and lower press-roll, the upper-press-roll may be covered, or, as I deem preferable, it may be furnished with an endless apron, P, passing upward around a smaller roller, mythe shaft of which is journaled in pivoted arms It attached to the frame of the machine, said armshaving f each a downwardly-projectingportion, r, bearing upon the shaft of the upper press-roll, -which arrangement serves to maintain theV roller a in its proper position relative to the upper press-roll.

'Ordinarily the upper press-roll receives its motion simply through frictional contact with the lower roll, though each is provided with a gear-wheel, o, upon the outer end of its shaft. which lmaybe made to mesh with-each other when necessary by pressing down upon the 1evers`R,the elastic coverings of the rolls and the wool between them serving at other times to reep the gear-wheels from meshing.

e 1 order that the wool may not be washed 'back down the apron G by the liquid pressed g out by the press-rolls, a roller, I, is placed just in advance of said rolls, serving to prevent its backward movement.

For the purpose of removing the sediment and dirt from the cleansing-liquid a pipe, L, is arranged to open into the lower part of the tub, below the diaphragm B, and is carried thence to a pumping or suction device, K, Figs. 1 and 3, by which the liquid is drawn from the tub and discharged into a filtering or purifying chamber, M. Any suitable pumping device may be employed, though in pracl tice a fan-wheel, P, driven bythe same power which Voperates the rakes, is preferred. The liqhid is carried into the chamber or receptacle M at, one end, and caused -to pass alternately over and under transverse partitions c, and, finally, through a screen or strainer, d, back i'ntothe tub, the heavier particles settling between the partitions, and the lighter ones being retained by the strainer d. In this way the liquid is thoroughlypuriiied and rendered susceptible of long-continued use.'

It is obvious that suitable openings may be made in the bottom or sides of the filteringchamber, for removing the sediment which accumulates therein, said openings being furnished with water-tight closing devices; and it is likewise apparent that the filtering apparatus may be modified. in construction.

The machine is also capable of use as a rinser,in which case a continuous flow of pure water is kept up through the tub, a portion of the loosened dirt and foreign matter. passing oi` with the outflowing water, while the remaining portion settles -at the bottom of the tub when the machine is constructed inthe usual manner.

To obviate this settling of the sediment at the bottoinof the tub, and provide a means prevented from iiowing off at the surface nn-V less it rises above the usual water-line, in which case the overflow S soon regulates the height of water but the water is free to enter the lower end of the tube or pipe t, flow through the box, and down through the pipe u from the tub so'long as the level of the water in the tub remains above the bottom of the box S.

It will be observed that thewater in passing from the tub is taken from the'bottom of the same, thereby insuring the removal of all sediment.'

The tubes or pipes t and u are provided with strainersor screens, to prevent the passage through them of any loose particles of wool, and may, one-or both, be furnished with a gate or valve, e, by which toclose` thenrwhen the machine is in use vas a washer;

For the purpose of bracing the tubular sleeves or bearings i, inwhich the rake or carrier driving shafts aremounted, a bar, Q, is extended from the shaft of the elevator E lengthwise of the tub, connecting the outer ends of said tubular' sleeves,'as` shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, the bar being supported by arms 7c, bearing, respectively, upon the transverse shaft of the gate J- and a transverse rod, h, orl upon some portion of the frame of the machine. In this way the sleeves t' are braced in every direction, and are not therefore liable to become loose or to move or yield when the machine is in oner ation.

A bar rounded on the under side may be substituted for the guard-roll l, but Vnot with as good results.

I am aware that yielding clutches have been used in various connections, and I therefore lay no broad claim thereto.

The overflow constructed as shown is ad vantageous in that it offers two courses for the water to the discharge, the upper one of which will answer in case the other is closed, and that it prevents floating particles of fiber from escaping from the bowl.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl l. The combination of a bowl or tank, a discharging or delivering mechanism, a rake vor carrier to advance the fiber toward the delivery mechanism, and a driving mechanism having a yielding connection, substantially as described, with t'he rake or carrier.

' 2. In a wool'washing machine, the combinadescribed, with the driving mechanism, so that they may stop independently, and that one may feed the surplus ber out of the way in the event of the stoppage of the other,

3. ln-combination with the tub ortank of a wool-Washing machine, a filtering apparatus, substantially as described, arranged to receive liquid fron the tub, purify the same, and return it 'to the tub,'whereby the continued use of the liqnidis permitted. I

4. In combination with the 'tub 0E a woolwashingmachine and a filtering device, a pumping or suction device, substantially as -described, arranged to cause a circulation of o the fluid through the filter. o

v 5. Incombination with, the tubular sleeves ,attachedto the side of the frame, the bar Q," attached to the innenendsfof the sleeves, and' sustained by connections with' the frame OI' body, substantially as shown.

' 7. In a wool-washing machine, an overllow'i consisting of an open box. or chamber having two tubes, one opening through and the other into the bottom of the bowl, as shown, whereby the usual discharge is from the bottom of 'the bowl, but any excessive or? unusual discharge permitted to take place directly into the top of the box, and thence through the out-v let.

FREDEaioK e. sARGnNT.

Witnesses:

. ARTHUR WRIGHT,

ALLAN C. SARGENT. 

